Make Your Own DIY Temporary Tattoos

Valentine’s day is coming up {very} soon and today I have a fun little gift you could make for your sweetheart or some fun DIY temporary tattoos you could make for your kids anytime of year! Today, we are going to mainly look at kid designs, but you could certainly personalize the design to be anything you choose. That IS why we DIY, right?? Custom is queen!

Supplies needed to make your own temporary tattoos:

Computer with editing program that can flip or mirror an image (I used Photoshop, but there are many other choices!)

Optional: Credit card or other flat object to get bubble out of the paper

We are going to start with designing your temporary tattoos. This can be super simple like one design repeated 25 times or super complex if you decide to make your own design from scratch. I went somewhere in between the two extremes. You will need to find free graphics online or create your own. Before using a graphic, please make sure that the designer themselves is offering the design for free or else you will actually be stealing (always be respectful of intellectual property.) I have a few favorites when it comes to picking up cute designs. The first is Twigg studios. CLICK HERE to download the free graphic below! THESE ARROWS from Star Sunflower Studio are really cute too!

My FAVORITE place to get graphics is to simply download free fonts at dafont.com. There are many image fonts where you will get a different image for each letter. For instance, a “t” will be a giraffe while an “S” will be an elephant.

You will notice that I really squeezed the designs together so that I did not waste any space. The temporary tattoo paper is a 2 pack for a little under 10 bucks, so at $5 a sheet, I wanted to get my money’s worth!

Note that words need to be mirrored (see Super Hero) for temporary tattoos or else they will be backwards once applied. Also notice that “Stunt Man” is both mirrored AND upside down so that it is easy to read when the kids are hanging upside down off of trees, the couch, etc. Fun, eh?

I used photoshop to put all the designs together, but you could use any program that works with images. Even a program like Microsoft Word will work to insert images! Once you have your design together it is time to print! You MUST print a test sheet first — don’t waste that precious temporary tattoo paper!

Follow the instructions EXACTLY, making sure you print on the correct side of the paper.

~Voila.~

The next step is to put your protective layer of plastic on the printed temporary tattoos. This doesn’t change the temporary tattoo in any way. It is just that layer of plastic you pull off before putting the temporary tattoos on.

Try not to get air bubbles between the plastic and images by sliding the plastic on like so:

If you do get a few bubbles, just rub them out with your fingers or a credit card. Now it is time to cut those puppies out! This is where the Silhouette comes in handy as it can cut exact outlines around your images. (Follow Silhouette instructions on the package if using your cutting machine.) If you do NOT own a Silhouette, no problem! Break out the scissors! Get as close as you can to the image while cutting.

If you cut too wide a border, you will have weird extra adhesive when the temporary tattoos are transferred.

You can use the temporary tattoos immediately once the printing is complete and dry. Just peel the plastic off, lay the tattoo image down on skin and cover with a soaking wet towel. After 20-30 seconds, lift the paper off the image very slowly and carefully.

If the image didn’t transfer, add a little more water and press down firmly.

Hey y’all! I’m Amy Renea, a freelance photographer and writer based out of Hershey, PA. I spend my days chasing children and chickens around the back yard, sipping on dandelion tea and munching on sweet potato chips. Come visit the Nest for All Seasons to learn more about my food, photography, DIY designs and modern garden living! www.anestforallseasons.com

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